Journey's Beginning
by orientalsoup
Summary: AU. In the Doctor's universe, the planets are disappearing, and there's only one person who can set them right.


**Journey's Beginning**

"I'll be back," she promised. She pushed back his unruly blonde hair and kissed his forehead, leaving her lips there for a moment. "I'll be back," she whispered into his hair, "with your dad."

The little boy frowned, his brown eyes wide and contemplative. Even at four, he seemed skeptical about his mother's promise. It was as if he knew, even if she didn't, that this wasn't entirely true. "Can't you take me with you, Mum?" he asked as she pulled away from him.

She shook her head. "I can't," she said. "You need to stay here and be safe. It's dangerous."

He pouted. "Then why are you going?"

"Because your dad needs me," she replied, placing her hands on his cheeks. She wiped a stray tear. "I need to save the universe." She smiled. "You know me, love. I always come back." She winked. "I'm the Big Bad Wolf. They can't get rid of me."

He hugged her waist tightly, and she smoothed his hair. It wasn't like she hadn't had this type of conversation with him before; this time, though, it was more serious. She was traveling to a different universe, her old universe, with technology that had not gone through a full Torchwood test. The dimension jumpers seemed to be stable enough, though, so Pete had considered them safe for use, especially in a crisis such as this.

"Here." Rose Tyler's hand dipped under her shirt, and she pulled out a silver key on a chain. She always wore it, and her son had wondered why—what did it open? Lifting the chain over her head, she said, "Keep this with you always. It'll get warm when me and your dad are near." She placed the chain around his neck, and he looked at the key in his hand in wonderment.

"What's it for?" he asked.

"Home," she replied. He looked up at her quizzically, and she smiled. "Just keep it with you, all right? Trust me."

He nodded. "Always."

"Go," Pete said, coming up behind his grandson and placing his hand on the kid's shoulder. "I'll take care of him. Just be safe, yeah?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah." She hugged her father tight, and he hugged her back. Taking a step back, she looked at her son one last time. "I love you, Seth," she said.

"I love you too, Mum," he replied.

She gave him one last look then turned and jogged over to her mother and Mickey. The latter placed a dimension jumper over her head. The three of them stood together silently—a surprise from Jackie—listening to their own breaths and going over the plan in their heads.

"I'm going to check the machines," Pete told his grandson. He pointed across the room to some scientists milling around a station with flashing lights and buttons. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, Grandpa," Seth replied. "I want to watch from here."

His grandfather nodded and went to the scientists. "Ready, you lot?" he asked, clapping his hands.

"Nearly!" the head of the project replied. "Just rechecking everything for safety and..." Someone gave her a thumbs-up. "Ready!"

"All right, guys," Pete said to Rose, Jackie, and Mickey. "Five...four...three...two..."

"_SETH_!" Rose shrieked.

Seth was running towards the trio, and he had grabbed a dimension jumper off the table. The one he had taken was a prototype, the very first from this particular project. It wasn't very safe, and Seth knew that. Rose screamed, terrified, but it was too late. Pete had yelled, "One!" and they all disappeared, Rose reaching out to grab her son's hand and missing.

When the Doctor found Rose, she ran and collided with him. He was overjoyed, absolutely ecstatic to be in her arms again. However, he felt as if something were wrong, and when he pulled away, he saw her face was wet with tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously. She was happy to see him, right? Hopefully those were happy tears?

She sniffled and shook her head. "My son—he...I don't know where he is!"

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

Donna also seemed very confused. "She has a kid?"

"Come on," he said, ignoring Donna. He took Rose's hand and led her into the TARDIS. "We'll find your son, I promise. First thing."

"Doctor!" Jack exclaimed at the group entered the TARDIS. "What—Rose!" He beamed at her, but it faded when he saw her crying. He hugged her nevertheless and planted a kiss on her head. "What's wrong?"

"My son," she sobbed. "He...he..." She put her face in her hands. "God, I'm being so ridiculous. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jack said smoothly. The Doctor grit his teeth. Jack always knew what to say. He himself should be the one comforting Rose!

"You're back with us," Jack continued. "If anyone can find him, we can."

"That's right," Donna chimed in, wedging herself between Jack and Rose. She beamed up at the former and batted her eyelashes. Jack smiled back politely.

"Okay," the Doctor said, his glasses now perched on his nose. He pulled out his screwdriver and sonic'd Rose. "Now that I've got a DNA tie, all I have to do is..." He drifted off as his fingers went wild over the controls. "There!" The image on the monitor blurred then refocused on a small boy huddling in a dark alleyway. Sniffling, he was shivering in his flannel shirt. He reached under his blue t-shirt and pulled out a key on a chain. It glowed faintly, and he stood up with newfound strength, looking around with excited eyes.

"Mum? Dad?" he called to the darkness.

"That's him!" Rose exclaimed, squeezing the Doctor's arm. He smiled at her.

Turning back to the screen, the Time Lord squinted at the image. "What's that around his neck?"

Rose slid her hand down his arm and held his hand. "My TARDIS key. He knows we're coming."

Seth was terrified.

He had never been alone before, especially in a dark alley in a different universe.

And his brain felt...different. Everything felt different. He felt more sensitive, and everything looked clearer. He could see a million things and nothing all at once. His mind felt like it had expanded, which he theorized was because of a little glow of warmth that he felt in the back of his mind. He could just..._feel_.

It was brilliant.

And now that the key was warm, he knew his mum and dad were coming to get him. He was safe.

When a whooshing sound filled the air, Seth jumped and hid in a corner. His shirt and hair blew back, and he hid behind a trash can. A blue light faded in and out of sight, and Seth's hearts beat violently in his chest. He held his breath, his respiratory bypass system close to kicking in. When a blue box appeared in front of him, his jaw dropped.

_Blue boxes just don't magically appear_, he thought. _Well, not in my universe. Maybe this universe is magical!_

The doors to the box opened and his mother stood in the doorway. He grinned; if magic wasn't real here, then miracles definitely were. He barreled into her, holding her tight and weeping.

"Mum! You came! Just like you said," he exclaimed, snuggling into her.

She squatted and smiled at him. "Of course I did, love. I was so scared." She shook her head, her brown eyes watering. "Don't do that again, okay?"

He wrapped his arms around her neck. "I promise. I'm sorry."

She placed her lips next to his ear and whispered, "You are in so much trouble."

He sighed and laughed despite himself, wiping a tear from his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Rose said, hugging him again.

"TARDIS located!" the robotic voice of a Dalek screamed.

The Doctor, appearing at the perfect moment, grabbed Rose and Seth's hands and pulled them into the TARDIS. "Close the door!" he yelled; Rose flipped it shut as she was dragged through. "Jack, what's going on on the monitor?"

The captain's eyes widened as he studied the screen. Donna was glued to his side, peering at it beside him. "Doesn't look good, Doc," Jack said. "I see four Daleks coming in."

"They're getting close!" Donna exclaimed.

The Doctor skidded over to them and turned the monitor to face him. Everyone crowded behind him, and Seth jumped up and down to get a better look.

"Here you go, kid," Jack said, lifting Seth onto his shoulders.

"Captain Jack!" Seth exclaimed. "Wow! And the TARDIS! Mum, it's all just like you said but better! Brilliant!"

Jack shot a cheeky grin at Rose. "You told him stories about me?"

She returned the smirk. "'Course I did. He especially likes the one where the Doctor switched your gun with a banana." The Doctor chuckled softly at this, which garnered a big grin from Rose.

"So," Jack said, tickling the little boy's stomach, "what's your name, kid?"

"Seth Tyler," he replied politely. "Mum said that I was named after the Egyptian god of storms."

Jack shot Rose a look, but she pretended to be fiddling with the controls. Shaking his head, Jack smiled and lifted a hand for Seth to shake. "Nice to meet you, Seth."

"All right, enough of that," the Doctor said in battle-mode: he had his brainy specs perched on his nose, and his brown eyes were assessing the situation. "The Daleks are surrounding us."

"There's only four of them," Donna pointed out, exasperated. "What can four measly, pesky Daleks do?"

"TARDIS has been located!" one of them said. "Transporting now."

"_Oh_," she whispered as she felt the TARDIS shoot up into space.

The TARDIS rematerialized on a dimly lit ship manned by Daleks.

"This doesn't look good," Jack said, trying to ease the tension. Donna squeezed his arm.

"Doctor!" a Dalek called. "You will come out or die!"

Shutting the monitor off, the Doctor turned to his companions. "All right," he said, looking at each and every one of them. "We've got to go out. All of us together."

Rose crossed her arms. "I thought you said those doors can protect against anything."

"What about the extrapolator shield?" Jack asked.

The Doctor merely shook his head in response. Rose and Jack argued some possible solutions, but the Time Lord kept shooting them down. They were losing hope of escaping.

Jolting them out of their thoughts, Donna screamed, "_Seth_! Don't! Come back!"

Everyone turned and watched in horror as Seth ran into the depths of the TARDIS.

"Seth!" Rose yelled, running after him. "You can't stay in the TARDIS! The Daleks have possession of it. It isn't safe anymore!"

"No! Rose! You're wasting time!" The Doctor groaned and ran off after her, shouting over his shoulder, "You two. _Stay. Right. There_."

Once he had disappeared, Donna gave Jack a pointed look. "I'm not taking orders from him! Are you?"

"Never." The two ran off in the direction the others had gone.

"Seth!" Rose screamed down a dead end. She turned around. Another dead end. This made absolutely no sense! Where had Seth gone? Where could he have gone? "SETH!" she shrieked, trembling from her fear and anxiety. "Stop shaking," she commanded herself. "You're braver than this."

She turned around and around, staring at the same four struts and coral walls. She was at a four-way intersection, and all four hallways looked like they led to nowhere. After turning several times, she wasn't sure which way she had come and which ways she hadn't explored. She figured she didn't have to know, anyway, because, well, it was the TARDIS. Direction didn't matter.

_Direction didn't matter_.

She could be so daft sometimes.

She ran down a random hallway, which ended up being much longer than she thought. Before the end, there was an opening to her right, so she made the turn. As soon as she had done so, her body collided with someone else's. She felt herself fall to the ground and her head bounce against the metal grating.

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed as he pulled her up. "Are you all right?"

She winced and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm as tough as nails."

The Doctor chuckled. "That you are." He squeezed her arm. "Are you sure you're all right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Where's Seth?"

"Dunno," the Doctor replied. "It's almost as if the TARDIS doesn't want us to find him. She's being very stubborn."

"We're running out of time," Rose said. "The Daleks are gonna come in." She peered around the Doctor, looking for a door or passageway he might have missed or recently appeared. No such luck. It had only one turn. "Why did he run off like that?" she screamed frustratedly. "That's the second time today!"

"We'll find him _and_ stop the Daleks," the Doctor said. "You know why?"

She looked up at him with those ever hopeful brown eyes of hers. "Why?"

"Because we're The Doctor and Rose Tyler," he said proudly. "We can do anything." He took her hand. "Together. Now, run!"

Hand in hand, they took off towards a passageway that had just appeared.

"Beautiful," Seth said, touching the shiny metal. Where his skin met the metal, the engine glowed gold. He stumbled back in shock.

_My pup_, the TARDIS cooed. _You've entered my engine, the closest thing to my heart._

"Why can't I see your heart?" he asked.

_It's dangerous_, the TARDIS replied. _It is not meant to be seen._

"But from what you showed me—those images from the past—my mum and dad saw your heart," he said.

The TARDIS sighed. _Yes. My Thief and my Wolf are quite special. But my Wolf nearly died, and my Thief regenerated._ She showed the little boy all the Doctor's regenerations.

"Can I do that?" Seth inquired.

_Yes. You were born from an entity born from the Heart of the TARDIS and a regeneration also born from my Heart. We are deeply connected in ways no one else has ever been before_.

_Touch the engine again._

Seth did as he was told. His hand glowed gold again, and suddenly his mind was filled with visions that blurred together yet made perfect sense. Images of humans being reduced to atoms and disappearing. Jack dying. Dalek Khan's visions of death and destruction. Davros imprisoning his parents. A pretty, dark-skinned woman named Martha threatening to destroy planet Earth. Jack returning with Gram, Uncle Mickey, and a lovely woman named Sarah Jane, threatening to to destroy the Dalek ships. And Donna... _The DoctorDonna_.

_This is where the timelines separate_, the TARDIS explained. _I have shown you the darkest of them all. This line brings death and destruction, which will ultimately end with your father being separated from you and your mother forever. Donna will lose her memories, and, eventually, your father's next regeneration will come sooner than planned. _

Seth shook his head. "I have to stop it then. I can't go back to the other universe."

The TARDIS mentally cuddled him. _You are brave, little one. You can stop this but at a cost._

"Whatever it takes," he replied.

A door deeper into the engines swung open to his left. Metal banged against metal and echoed off the walls. Seth jumped at the sound, but with the TARDIS's kind, motherly urging, he went in. He was hit with a wave of immense heat and broke into a sweat. His shirt stuck to his skin, and his blonde hair was flat and dripping.

_I apologize for the heat_, the TARDIS said. _I can't cool it or else I'll stop working. Now, go down the stairs, where you'll be at the heart of my engine._

After a moment of searching through the steam, Seth found the flight of stairs that jutted out of a hole in the floor. He touched the railing and jumped back, licking his palm.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" he said.

The TARDIS didn't answer.

Taking a deep breath, Seth climbed down the stairs.

The Doctor and Rose had been running for what seemed like ages. Every hallway looked the same. They could swear they were running in circles. Their sense of direction was skewed from the TARDIS's ever-changing floor plan, and they were losing hope fast.

"This is pointless!" Rose complained. She touched the wall, stroking the TARDIS. "Come on, Old Girl! Where's Seth? Why are you hiding him?!" Her eyes watered, but she blinked back the tears.

The Doctor took Rose's hand. "Come on. Let's keep going. We'll find him."

She groaned. "The TARDIS is much more powerful than us! She's clearly doing this on purpose."

"She's getting distracted," the Doctor pointed out. He gestured to several hallways that were forming in front of them. "See? She can't keep us running around in circles forever. It's taking a lot out of her." He tugged on her hand. "Allons-y and have a look, eh?"

Rose took a deep breath and smiled at him. "All right." They ran down the first hallway they saw and kept running, searching for a door or another passageway.

"Wait!" the Doctor exclaimed, Rose several metres away. She turned and walked to where he stood.

"What is it?" she asked, staring at the blank wall. "There's nothing here."

"Look closer," he said.

She stepped closer to the wall and gave it another sweep. "Nothing."

"No, there _is_ something," he said. "The corner of your eye. You can't see it, but it's there. You just have to look for it."

Determined and frustrated, Rose looked again. There! A sliver of a red door. But did she really see it? Her eyes swept back over the spot, and she finally saw it. "I see it!" she said excitedly.

"Perception filter," the Doctor explained.

Rose clucked her tongue. "You sneaky old thing!" she snapped at the TARDIS. She reached out to open the door then realized there was no knob. Furthermore, there were no hinges. It was a fake! _But if it's a fake, why would the TARDIS put a perception filter on it?_

"She's trying to keep us out," the Doctor said. "Luckily, she's weakening, and I'm very good at breaking and entering." He whipped out his sonic and winked.

Rose laughed. "Oh, good old times! Come on! Let's get my son."

The Doctor held his sonic up to the door and buzzed it. "ALLONS— the door swung open—"Y!"

Rose screamed with delight. The Doctor grabbed her hand and off they were again.

Donna groaned with impatience. "Where have they all gone?!" she exclaimed. "And why do the hallways keep changing?" She gave the TARDIS wall a swift kick. Pain traveled from her toes to her thigh, and she inhaled sharply, trying to keep up her tough exterior.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, genuinely concerned.

She bit her lip. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." She winced.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand to her. She stared at it quizzically. He smiled and said, "Take it. I'm going to carry you."

Donna mentally squealed, images of Jack carrying her, throwing her onto her bed, and having his way with her dancing through her mind. She grabbed his hand, a tad too forcefully, and he lifted her onto his back. She frowned in disappointment at this version of "carrying," but when she placed her hands on his broad, strong shoulders, he flitted through her mind again.

Sweat dripping down their faces, the Doctor and Rose fought through the smoky interior of the TARDIS. Rose called for her son while the Doctor was buzzing his sonic in every which way.

Sighing, Rose sat down. The Doctor continued walking, sonic buzzing away, until he realized she was no longer beside him. He took a couple steps back and found her almost hidden in the steam. As he squatted beside her, her sobbing became more apparent. He could hear her hopeless wails over the sound of the TARDIS engine, and he could see the tears pooling in her eyes.

"Where is he?" she sniffled. "Why is he here? God, I'm such a terrible mum. What mother lets her child run away like that? _Twice_?"

"You're not a bad mum," the Doctor said. And he meant it. Rose was the sweetest, bravest, most domestic of all his companions. If anyone could be a mum, Rose could. Plus, she was Jackie Tyler's daughter; though he would never admit it aloud, he honestly believed that Jackie was a great mum.

"How would you know?" she said bitterly. "You haven't been around for the past five years!" She sobbed harder and buried her face in her knees.

The Doctor was taken aback by her caustic comment. Nevertheless, he comforted her. She was just being human. She was so incredibly human, and he loved her for it. Wrapping his arms around her, he said, "I'm sorry. So sorry. I've missed you so much."

Rose buried her face into the Doctor's chest and said nothing.

_You are so brave, little one_, the TARDIS said proudly. _Just like your mother and father. What's the Earth saying? Oh, yes. "A chip off the old block."_ She was trying to soothe Seth, and he knew that. It scared him. What was he getting himself into?

_You're so close!_ she said encouragingly. She cleared some smoke in front of a blue door. When he reached it, Seth opened it and was thrown back by a blinding light, and everything in his mind went gold.

"We've got to get to Seth before it's too late," the Doctor said as Rose sobbed into his suit. "Come on. I don't know what she's up to, and it's unnerving." When she did not rise, he whispered into her ear, "Don't give up, Rose. You were never one to give up."

"The TARDIS is cleverer and stronger than we are," she cried. "We'll never find him."

"We will." The Doctor stood and helped Rose to her feet. "No one can defeat the Doctor and Rose Tyler. Not even the TARDIS."

A sliver of a smile appeared on her face, though it did not reach her eyes. "I've missed you," she whispered.

"And I you," he replied.

She blinked, staring at him, then jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and never wanting to let go. "It's been so hard living without you."

Then there was a bang and a scream, causing the pair to jump. The Doctor stood there for a moment, just listening. He pointed to his right. "Come on!"

Seth's head felt like it was splitting open. He could see every part of time and space to the millisecond, and it hurt. So many possibilities, so much pain and loss. It was even more confusing than when he first arrived in this universe. He felt cold and hot; he was shivering and sweating. His entire being felt light as air, floating around in time and space and nothingness. He tried to take back control, but he was being consumed by fire and ice and pain.

Every cell was screaming. There was a ringing in his ears. He passed out again.

"Seth!" Rose shrieked, running to his side. She pulled his small frame into her arms and hugged him tightly. After a moment, she yelped and put him down. "Doctor, he's burning up!"

The Doctor attempted to put on his brainy specs, but they immediately fogged up. Tucking the glasses back inside his suit, he knelt beside Rose and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the boy. The device emitted a high-pitched buzz, and Rose clamped her hands over her ears. The Doctor, however, was unfazed by the sound; instead, he reacted with horror to the readings. "He is _literally_ burning up," he said, sliding his arms under Seth's body and lifting him up. "We have to get him out of here. _RUN_!"

The pair broke out into a sprint, bursting through the steam. "What's wrong with him?" Rose asked anxiously. She kept pace with the Doctor, just like old times, but neither was in the mood for nostalgia. He clutched Seth close to his chest, and she kept brushing the boy's blonde hair out of his face.

The Doctor shook his head, almost in disbelief. "I...I don't know. I just know we have to get him to the sickbay."

Rose wiped sweat off Seth's face. "Do you know where we're going?"

He made a face. "Not...exactly." Before his companion could protest, he quickly said, "But this is the TARDIS! Seth is in danger and she knows we're worried, so she won't—"

_Bang! _The door out of the engines shut in their faces. Their hair blew back from the force, and Rose screamed. As any worried, angry mother would do, she snatched the sonic out of the Doctor's hand and pointed it at the door. When that didn't work, she threw it down and pulled her sonic gun out of her jacket; again, no luck. She finally resorted to throwing herself against the door and screaming curses at the machine. When she had tired herself out, she collapsed on the floor and cried.

The Doctor watched this all play out like a captivated audience member. He felt his hearts fall in love with Rose Tyler all over again. Her passion and fierceness had grown even stronger since he had last seen her. How could it not? She was a mother now.

"Why doesn't she want to help us?" Rose screamed.

Suddenly, a bright, gold figure rose from Seth's body. Startled, the Doctor nearly dropped the boy; Rose, with tears running down her face, stared in shock. The figure took the form of a small boy—Seth. He gracefully floated down from the Doctor's arms, leaving the body behind, and walked over to Rose.

"Mum, don't cry," he said, his voice exactly like Seth's. "I am the Bad Wolf's son."

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"This is my true form," he explained. "The TARDIS helped me see that. I am part-TARDIS, in a sense. The Bad Wolf lives in you and in me. However, you can die if you see the Time Vortex. I cannot."

True to form, the Doctor cut in: "But you're still human. The Bad Wolf gene should not have been able to pass on to you."

Seth smirked. "We both know that's not true. You read the sonic's readings."

Rose's cheeks turned red, and she looked up at the Doctor. He stared back at her in shock. "I meant to—"

He enveloped her in a big hug—the biggest and warmest hug he had ever given. "Oh, you beautiful human! Absolutely brilliant! Molto bene! You're fantastic!" He pulled back at beamed at her. "Rose Tyler! _My_ Rose Tyler. Brilliant." He kissed her.

"Ugh, gross!" Seth exclaimed.

Arm still wrapped around Rose, the Doctor turned to the boy. "You're the Bad Wolf, yes? Didn't you see the coming?"

He grimaced. "Yes. Still didn't make it less gross. You're my parents!"

Rose threw her head back and laughed.

"So what now, Seth, m'boy?" The Doctor was still beaming.

"Now," he said, "I destroy Davros and the Daleks." He disappeared.

"It's Satellite Five all over again!" Rose said.

The Doctor's smile grew wider. "Brilliant!"

Donna and Jack, after hours—or what felt like hours—of searching, finally found Rose and the Doctor emerging from a room. They were soaked, and the Doctor was carrying something in his arms.

When they realized the Time Lord was holding a body, they ran over, calling out.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Oh, no," Donna whispered, touching Seth's cheek. "He's burning up. I should have stopped him...he was just so fast!"

"Don't fret, Donna!" the Doctor proclaimed. "He's just fine!"

She stared at him in disbelief. "That boy's as hot as a burning coal!" She narrowed her eyes at Rose. "Are you alien or something? A special heat-resistant type?"

"Nope, human," she replied. "He's the Doctor's son."

"I'm a father!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"_Again_?" Donna said, exasperatedly.

"Again?" Rose inquired.

"Let's get out of here first, shall we?" he said, already running off. "Explanations later! Fates of twenty-seven planets at stake, you know. _ALLONS-Y_!"

"Now, who are you?" Davros asked, narrowing his eyes at the golden boy. Dalek Khan tittered in the corner. Davros turned around and snapped, "What is it?! What have you not told me?"

The TARDIS materialized in the dungeon, and the four travelers spilled out.

"Doctor!" Davros laughed maniacally. "And his children of time! Did you know that some of them threatened to destroy this ship and another said she would destroy planet Earth? Have you seen what you have done? The Doctor—the man who never carries a gun—has made weapons out of his own companions. Are you proud of yourself, Doctor?"

The Doctor glared at him. "They are not weapons."

"They are friends," Seth said, his voice celestial and powerful. "They care and love so much that they would sacrifice everything to keep the universe safe. I am the product of sacrifice."

Curious, Davros asked, "And who's sacrifice would that be?"

"The Doctor and Rose Tyler," he replied. "I was created by the Bad Wolf. I control all of time and space."

"That...that's Seth," Donna whispered to the Doctor.

"Yes."

"But he's inside."

"Yes."

"Why am I not shocked by all of this?"

The Doctor chuckled.

"Dalek Khan has seen the future, and he has never mentioned you," Davros said, scrutinizing the boy, "nor the Bad Wolf."

Dalek Khan giggled again. "The end is near! Oh so near!"

"That is," the creator of the Daleks said, "_your_ end. Exterminate them!"

Daleks rolled out from the shadows, shooting at the group. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Stop!" Seth commanded, raising his hand, palm facing forward. The lasers froze in mid-air then turned into gold dust.

"Ha!" the Doctor laughed.

"What is this?" Davros exclaimed.

"Explain! Explain!" the Daleks chanted.

Seth stomped his foot, shaking the ship and causing everyone to go silent. "Return the twenty-seven planets," he ordered, "and I will let you leave peacefully."

"Daleks never surrender!" Davros yelled. "Now, exterminate the boy!" More Daleks appeared and shot at the travelers.

Seth turned the lasers into dust again. "I was afraid you'd say that," he said, genuinely pitying them. "I'm sorry. So sorry." He flicked his hand as Davros yelled more orders; before the Daleks could act, they all dissolved into gold particles and disappeared. "I told you," he said to a gobsmacked Davros, "I control all of time and space."

"No! NO!" Davros shrieked in a tantrum-like way. "I will _NOT_ be defeated! Dalek Khan! You told me we would succeed!" But Dalek Khan was dead, and Davros was slowly disappearing from reality. Soon enough, he was engulfed by gold and Seth blew away his atoms.

"It is done," he said, turning to his mother and father.

Jack asked, "What about the other Daleks? The planets?"

"It is done," Seth repeated. And just like the Daleks and Davros, he turned into gold particles and disappeared.

"Seth!" Rose shrieked, grabbing at the air. The Doctor placed his hand on her arm. He gave her a look, and she frantically ran inside the TARDIS. The others followed, though slowly, and found Rose sitting on the jump seat with Seth's head in her lap. Kissing his forehead, she whispered, "Wake up, wake up..."

Slowly but surely, Seth's eyes fluttered open. When his mother finally came into full view, he jumped up and threw his arms around her. "Mum!" he exclaimed as she kissed his face.

"God!" she said, holding him at arm's length. "What did I tell you about running off?"

The Doctor crossed his arms and harrumphed.

"But, Mum, I saved everyone, just like the TARDIS told me to!" he said.

Rose sighed. "I know, love, but you frightened me. I was so, so scared."

"Now you know how I feel!" the Doctor exclaimed. "_All the time_!"

Seth beamed and turned towards the Time Lord. "Dad!" He jumped off the captain's chair and barreled into the Doctor. "Finally!"

The Doctor picked the boy up and held him tight, their two hearts beating against each other. "I didn't know," he whispered into his son's ear. "If I knew...If only I knew... I'm sorry. So sorry."

"I know," Seth replied. "It's okay." After a moment, he wiggled out of his father's embrace and said, "We have to go get Mickey, Grandma, and Sarah Jane. They're on the ship."

The Doctor lifted his son, balancing him on his hip like he had done several times before with many other children. Somehow, though, this felt different: being with Seth, with Rose watching a few metres away, was so human; he felt love and pride swelling in his chest, and he just couldn't believe his luck. Seth was all his, all natural, all biological. That was the difference between Time Lords and humans: connectivity. Humans were connected by skin and blood, always needing to be close to each other to feel at home. And right here, with his son and his Rose, he felt at home.

"Oi," Donna said, snapping the Doctor out of his humanly thoughts. "Spaceman! Are we going to go fetch them or what?"

The Doctor grinned at her and laughed. With Seth still on his hip, he spun over to the console and started pressing buttons. To his surprise, the boy leaned over and pushed and pulled the correct buttons and levers. He laughed again and slamming his mallet down, he crowed, "ALLONS-Y!"

"He's mad, you know," Donna said, handing cups of tea to Rose, Martha, and Sarah Jane. "Absolutely mad."

Rose poked her tongue out as she grinned. "Yeah, I know. But he's our madman."

Sarah Jane laughed. "That's for sure!"

Martha propped her elbows up on the table and rested her face against her hands. "I can't believe you found him. When we travelled, he was broken-hearted. Wouldn't stop talking about you."

Rose's eyebrows shot up and she blushed. "Did he really?" She smiled to herself then quickly said to Martha, "I'm sorry."

Martha shook her head. "Don't be."

"I can see it in your eyes," Rose said. "You love him."

"Loved," Martha corrected. She gave Rose a genuine smile. "He's yours now, and you deserve each other."

Sarah Jane sighed. "The ultimate adventure: a life with the Doctor." As the younger companions listened intently, she continued, "I loved him, too. I saw two of his faces, just like you, Rose. Well, three now, I suppose. You hold onto him and take care of him, you hear me? He is the best and the worst man, and that makes him all the more marvelous."

Rose smiled and took Sarah Jane's hand. "Always."

Donna put down her cup. "You were all in love with the Doctor?" she asked. The three of them nodded. She scoffed and sipped her tea again. "You're all bonkers!"


End file.
